LATE NEWS - BRIEFCASE

'' I think (the F-22) is a great plane, and it's definitely on track,'' Widnall said on Fox News Sunday.

The F-22, expected to be the world's most advanced fighter plane, will replace F-15s built by the former McDonnell Douglas Corp. The plane is difficult for radar to detect, can fly twice the speed of sound and will carry six missiles insides its belly, rather than under its wings as is now standard.

Stock options make many rich

NEW YORK

The boom in technology stocks is churning out millionaires by the scores as the industry continues to grant employees more stock options than any other, Forbes ASAP magazine says.

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, worth about $38.7 billion, heads the magazine's first list of technology's 100 richest people, released Sunday. He is followed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Vice President Steve Ballmer.

Stocks could sneak higher this week, possibly pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to new highs, but Wall Street will look over its shoulder for any unpleasant surprises that could rouse the bears.

''We've had a pretty big move up in both stocks and bonds and some portfolio managers are getting edgy,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.

Barring any dire earnings forecasts, the Dow could catch up with the broader indices' record-breaking run, analysts said.

Kohl still committed to euro

BONN

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Sunday restated his commitment to launching Europe's single currency on time amid signs of growing public skepticism and political opposition.

Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber, Germany's leading euro skeptic, warned Kohl's coalition government that sheer force of political will was not enough to push it through.